Ahead of the Tuesday beginning of Oregon’s 83rd legislative session, new and returning lawmakers were sworn in Monday at the Capitol building in Salem. Following their swearing in, they elected individuals among their colleagues to take on legislative leadership roles.
Pro-life senators and representatives, once again in the superminority following a highly competitive 2024 General Election, will face a tough climb this year in the work to defend Oregon’s most vulnerable.
In the Oregon House of Representatives, Oregon Right to Life PAC-endorsed representatives Alek Skarlatos, Darin Harbick, Darcey Edwards, and Christine Drazan, were sworn in after winning their general election races in November. Also sworn in, in the state Senate, were ORTL PAC-endorsed senators Noah Robinson, Bruce Starr, Diane Linthicum, Todd Nash, and Mike McLane.
“We’re incredibly proud of the pro-life lawmakers who were sworn in today,” Oregon Right to Life executive director Lois Anderson said. “We’re confident that these principled men and women will be bold advocates for Oregon’s unborn and medically vulnerable, who, more than ever, need courageous voices to promote their dignity and protection.”
Leaders were also voted in to head the chambers of the state legislature, with pro-abortion Democrats elected to serve as House Speaker and Senate President. Pro-abortion Sen. Rob Wagner was elected president of the state Senate. Democratic Rep. Jule Fahy was elected as House Speaker to replace Rep. Dan Rayfield, who served in the role from 2022 through 2024 and will now serve as Oregon’s new attorney general.
Meanwhile, Sen. Daniel Bonham (R-The Dalles) and Rep. Christine Drazan (R-Canby) – pro-life lawmakers endorsed by ORTL PAC – will serve as minority leaders in the Senate and House, respectively.
In the afternoon, Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek gave a state of the state address in which she addressed a bevy of topics of interest to Oregonians, including wildfire mitigation, mental health and addiction, and homelessness.
The governor expressed a sense of “hope for the future” and vowed to “chip away at our challenges” during the 2025 legislative session, as well as “help make Oregon a place where everyone – everyone – can be successful.”
Kotek, a radically pro-abortion governor who recently moved to expand the state’s stockpile of abortion pills in response to President-elect Donald Trump’s re-election, did not mention abortion during the address.
READ: Oregon’s Democratic Governor Tina Kotek Increasing Abortion Pill Stockpile After Trump Win
As pro-life Republican lawmakers chart their way forward in the new Democratic supermajority, they enjoy the benefit of a unified front: 100% of the Republican lawmakers now in office have earned the support of ORTL PAC.
Moreover, the Monday swearing in ceremony cemented a crucial pro-life victory in the election of Darin Harbick to represent rural Lane County. In the 2024 election cycle, Oregon Right to Life PAC carried out a highly successful campaign to oust Harbick’s predecessor, pro-abortion Republican Charlie Conrad, who voted in support of a radical bill that would have authorized young girls to get abortions without parental knowledge. Harbick delivered an historic 82% – 17% win against Conrad in the 2024 primary and will now provide a strong pro-life voice in the legislature.
